Poetry correspondence, 1943-1949

 
Component identifier:
Series 3
Content Summary:

Gifford was a member of the Jindyworobaks, a group of poets founded by Rex Ingamells in 1938 to foster the development of a distinctly 'Australian' style of expression, including the use of Aboriginal language and themes to evoke the Australian culture and environment.

This series comprises correspondence files, some of which also feature manuscript and typescript draft material by Gifford and others, together with newspaper cuttings and related papers. Among the major correspondents are E.J. Brady, Clem Christesen, Rev. Frank Coaldrake, Norma L. Davis, Flexmore Hudson, Rex Ingamells, Victor Kennedy, Ian Mudie, A.P. Murphy and E.W. Salier.

These files document Gifford's attempts to publish his poems, his work as Victorian editor of Jindyworobak Publications from the early 1940s to 1944, and his activities as founder of the publishing company Arura Writers from c.1944 to c.1949. Through Arura Writers, Gifford published his own poetry collection The glad season (1944), together with Selected poems of Charles Harpur (1944), I, the thief (1944) by Norma L. Davis, Crooked tree : and other stories (1944) by Renee Woods, Heritage of stone (1945) by Charles Barrett and Face to the sun (1949) by Arthur Murphy. Drafts of Gifford's poems, and reviews relating to various works by Gifford and others, are held in Series 4.

The files are arranged alphabetically by correspondent, as maintained by Gifford. A number of the files contain only a single letter or several letters.

Immediate source of acquisition:
Papers relating to the 1998 Constitutional Convention (now Series 8) were donated to the Library by Gifford in 1998. The remainder of the collection was donated by Gifford in 2002.

Contents

Access and use

Parent Restrictions:
Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn369464).
Parent Terms of Access:
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact: